Event

Storysmithing 101

Keep practicing even after the Festival! Check out Living Out Loud for more storytelling training with Tina Devine, and August Tarrier's memoir workshop The First Person Voice to continue your storytelling journey after the Festival is over. Attendance at "Storysmithing 101" is encouraged but not required for these workshops.

Everybody has a story to tell. Come share yours in an intimate setting with other storytellers. Well begin with an introduction to the art of telling a personal story in any form, then break into three groups, each focusing on a different approach: written, oral or digital. In the breakout session of your choice, you will learn techniques for discovering your authentic voice, and have a chance to share your first attempts, ask questions and receive professional guidance.

Those who wish to develop their own projects more fully may return for extended sessions to be held in the following weeks.

Instructors:

Digital Storytelling

Lansdowne, Pennsylvania native Lisa Nelson-Haynes is Associate Director of the Painted Bride Art Center and works with the Center for Digital Storytelling as a workshop facilitator. In addition to bringing world-class art and artists to Philadelphia from around the region, nation and world, Lisa believes a need to tell and hear stories is essential to the human experience and enjoys helping storytellers actualize their stories in an visual format and in their authentic voice. Lisa is a graduate of Hampton University and has completed her graduate coursework in film at Temple University.

Memoir Writing

August Tarrier is a writer, editor and publisher. She is the Editor in Chief of New City Press and Professional Writer in Residence at the University of Baltimore. She has recently completed a short story collection and a memoir.

Oral Storytelling

For over fifteen years, professional storyteller Tina Devine has been performing her original material, folkloric adaptations and literary tales to a wide variety of audiences. Her engaging workshops assist participants to develop the art of storytelling as not only a tool of self-revelation, but as an instrument of shared experience, community building, and social transformation.